How to Prepare for a Verbal Reasoning Test

Verbal reasoning tests are the second most common type of aptitude test that candidates face in the recruitment process. It's easy to think that if you're good at English, they'll be a breeze. But unfortunately, that's not necessarily the case. Here you can find our top tips for preparing for a verbal reasoning test.

Josephine08/10/18

Verbal reasoning tests are used by employers in the hiring process because research has demonstrated that psychometric tests can be a good indicator of a candidates ability and future job performance.

The most effective way to prepare for your verbal reasoning assessment is to practice. There is no substitute for putting in the hours and practicing as many questions as possible prior to sitting your assessment.

By sitting as many questions as possible you will find that your speed, accuracy and timings improve and these are the key factors that affect your performance. The reason for this is that you will start to become familiar with the format and common pitfalls candidates encounter when sitting their verbal reasoning assessments.

Top tips for preparing for your verbal reasoning test

We’ve got 10 top tips which will really help you improve:

Practice as many different questions as possible prior to your assessment.

Concentrate on the questions you get wrong. Read the answers provided and try to understand why you went wrong. Verbal reasoning questions often have very subtle wording and it’s important you review your wrong answers to improve your performance.

When you read news articles try to get used to identifying the key messages and reading quickly but carefully. This will help train your brain and get in the right mind set.

Don’t panic. Remember that if you have done plenty of practice questions before your assessment then this is your chance to prove yourself and differentiate yourself from other candidates. A deep breath before you start can really help to calm nerves.

Stick to your timings! After practicing as many questions as possible before your assessment this is the #2 tip. Calculate how many minutes you have to complete each question prior to the assessment and use that as a rough guide for timings. Remember you’re not always expected to finish in the time so don’t rush. If you get stuck move on, easier questions may follow later in the test, they are not always in order of difficulty.

Don’t skim read the question, make sure you focus on what it’s asking you and be clear on what information you are looking for in the passage.

Practice in exam conditions, this will make the real assessment less daunting and improve the quality of your revision time. In front of the TV or in a distracting environment will lead to less effective preparation time.

Make sure you feeling fresh when you take the test, try to avoid taking it when you’re very tired or thirsty, these physical impairments can affect performance.

Make sure you read any instructions you’re given carefully and remember to ask for feedback if it’s available. This is especially important if you don’t pass, if you know where you went wrong you can try to avoid repeating the same mistake next time.

Practice, practice, practice. It is the best and most effective way to improve. We’ve got 30 free questions which you can practice below, upgrade for access to a further 105, written by an expert chartered occupational psychologist who has worked for a number of the major test publishers.

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